WELCOME… to my blog

welcome-to-my-blogFrom time to time I will reach out to you to share essential information about the university world as it comes to my attention. I do hope you will find my postings helpful as you confront the dynamics of this evolving arena.

Summer 2016 Newsletter

Recently, I completed another year of guiding purposeful high school seniors, as they trudged through the perplexing college application process. There were moments when the expectations seemed daunting. However, when the last application was submitted, I believe there was not only a sense of great relief, but also one of fulfillment. As I reflected on how applications have a deeper significance than securing a place in a college of choice, I shared these thoughts in my letters of congratulation.

Read the complete newsletter

How to Survive the College Admissions Madness

Many colleges will be reporting their acceptances and denials by the end of March or early April. Much is said at the time of this annual ritual as to how students should receive the anticipated news. However, Frank Bruni’s message in Sunday’s New York Times shares a perspective that says it better than any I have seen.

Read the entire article: College Admissions

Read the article as a PDF file: College Admissions

So Much for Bachelor’s Degrees Not Having Value

Reinforcing the value of a bachelor’ degree

February 9, 2015

It’s become fashionable among some pundits and politicians to question the economic value of the bachelor’s degree. But the latest unemployment figures, which show good hiring trends across the board, suggest to Bloomberg Business that there is one possible labor market problem for bachelor’s degree holders: there may not be enough of them. The article notes that the unemployment rate for bachelor’s degree holders is now down to 2.8 percent (compared to 5.7 percent for the adult population as a whole). The rate for bachelor’s degree holders is the lowest since September 2008, and the article says that this level makes it conceivable that the job market will run out of bachelor’s holders to hire.

January 2015 Newsletter

It is another new year. They certainly seem to begin and end with great speed. My mind immediately focuses on my high school seniors who are making plans for next year. A few have a clear sense of the college they will be attending. For them, the uncertainty is over. More are not going to make that decision until the news arrives in the Spring. Wherever the year 2015-6 takes you, it will be in an academic environment where you will have the opportunity to participate in courses and programs that will be intellectually stimulating.

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Promiscuous College Come-Ons

To be sure the title of this New York Times Op Ed piece is an eye catcher. And I am not sure I can equate the frenzy to apply to so many colleges equates to promiscuity. However, I would call it an epidemic for which there is no known vaccine.

ARTICLE
by Frank Bruni, Op-Ed Columnist, NY Times, first published November 22, 2014

The Redesigned SAT

The standardized tests for admission to college are certainly not going away. Rather, they are being redesigned. What this will mean to students taking the SAT in the Spring of 2016 is presently unknown.

However, the following article from the New York Times provides some insight: SAT

Best, Brightest and Rejected: Elite Colleges Turn Away Up to 95% (NY Times)

Every year at this time I celebrate the good news with my students and grieve at their the disappointments. And each ensuing year, I find the uncertainties of results for students applying to college intensify. There are demonstrable reasons for these uncertainties on the one hand; then there are the inexplicable outcomes on the other. I encourage those of you who have just come through this trying period of college selection to read the analysis in this recent New York Times article by Richard Perez-Pena. I promise to share it with all of my rising seniors as a reality check for all of the deserving students who may or may not receive the acceptances they anticipated when the next application cycle unfolds.

Elite Colleges

The World is their Workplace

(NY Times – Education Life)

While I continue to be a strong proponent of the liberal arts, believing a fully educated person deserves to have a foundation in the humanities, I am excited to see that colleges are developing programs that enable its students to blend the best of worlds. What follows is an article from Educational Life, New York Times, February 3, 2013. Students in both undergraduate programs in business and liberal arts can seize opportunities that will prepare them for career opportunities through evolving initiatives. Additionally, universities including Wake Forest, Dartmouth, Southern Methodist, Vanderbilt, Villanova, Berkeley and the University of Chicago have developed summer boot camps for crash courses in business fundamentals.

Workplace

Part 1: Answers to Your Questions About the FAFSA

(The Choice – NY Times blog)

It is January and time to file federal aid forms (FAFSA) for students to be considered for financial aid as they enter college for the Fall of 2013. Mark Kantrowitz, a trusted expert on financial aid, offers important advice on an ongoing basis on The Choice Blog. He has begun a Q & A that will run for this week. He also offers important guidance to financial aid on his web-site: www.finaid.org. .

FAFSA